A greater exploration of the art form than the artist.
A glimpse into the life of a legendary poet.
A brief preface explains that the beloved Japanese poet Basho was born in 1644 in Edo, Japan. However, this particular title is focused on his “wayfaring, or traveling, life,” which occurred during the period from 1684 to 1689. The story is divided into five sections modeled after the five journeys Basho took, which later served as inspiration for some of his most recognized work. Via narration cast entirely in a series of haiku, readers are introduced to the poet when he is still a teacher. Faced with sudden change when his house burns down, Basho decides to be “forever afoot” in his quest to seek “the Way” and embarks on the path as a wanderer. The majority of his journeys consist of observations of fleeting moments in nature, such as the birth of a fawn, a “newborn spirit,” during his third journey. Later, in his fourth, he feels the dizzying heights of mountains. The whimsical haiku are paired with Rockwood Ghanem’s landscapes, rendered in bold colors that deftly blend together to invoke the feeling of misty mountains and grassy fields. As a sudden illness takes Basho on his fifth and final journey, the concluding lines from the poet himself ponder the natural course of life. While the narrative is skillfully done, readers may become more familiar with the art of haiku than with Basho’s life.
A greater exploration of the art form than the artist. (note on haiku) (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-61172-069-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures.
Abraham Lincoln’s ascent to the presidency is recounted in a fluid, easy-to-read biography for early readers.
Simple, direct sentences stress Lincoln’s humble upbringing, his honesty, and his devotion to acting with moral conviction. “Lincoln didn’t seem like a man who would be president one day. But he studied hard and became a lawyer. He cared about people and about justice.” Slavery and Lincoln’s signature achievement of emancipation are explained in broad yet defined, understandable analogies. “At that time, in the South, the law let white people own black people, just as they owned a house or a horse.” Readers are clearly given the president’s perspective through some documented memorable quotes from his own letters. “Lincoln did not like slavery. ‘If slavery is not wrong,’ he wrote to a friend ‘nothing is wrong.’ ” (The text does not clarify that this letter was written in 1865 and not before he ascended to the presidency, as implied by the book.) As the war goes on and Lincoln makes his decision to free the slaves in the “Southern states”—“a bold move”—Lincoln’s own words describe his thinking: “ ‘If my name ever goes into history,’ Lincoln said, ‘it will be for this act.’ ” A very basic timeline, which mentions the assassination unaddressed in the text, is followed by backmatter providing photographs, slightly more detailed historical information, and legacy. It’s a pity that the text is accompanied by unremarkable, rudimentary opaque paintings.
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures. (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243256-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Readers who pursue the context will discover that the girl who became an Israeli prime minister had a social conscience.
A group of school friends provides Golda Meir with her first leadership test.
Golda is the child of Russian-Jewish immigrants living in Milwaukee when she becomes active in the American Young Sisters Society. As their president, Golda tasks them to raise money to buy new textbooks for classmates. The neighborhood is very poor, and pennies are precious to the shoppers who patronize her parents’ store, so it’s no easy feat. The young girl is highly motivated and struggles to write a speech for a fundraiser, finally deciding to “speak from my heart.” The event is a success, and Golda immediately decides to found a new group and “be [its] president!” In her first book for children, Krasner presents a pleasantly fictionalized story about a future world leader. Garrity-Riley’s digitally manipulated gouache-and-collage illustrations are a nice accompaniment featuring wallpaper backgrounds and fashionable period clothing. However the overall effect, with so many washed-out browns and blues, is drab. Pale circles of cheek blush on the characters bring to mind pages from a shopping catalog. Stopping short of Meir’s Zionist passion and move to Palestine, the book forces readers to consult the biographical note to understand why Goldie is important beyond the story.
Readers who pursue the context will discover that the girl who became an Israeli prime minister had a social conscience. (photographs, places to visit, bibliography) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-1200-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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